


Invisible Ties

by animeismylifestyle



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Archer Akaashi, Fire Emblem AU, Great Knight Daichi, Great Lord Sugawara, Griffon Rider Bokuto, Kagehina & bokuaka are both side pairings, M/M, Mage Kageyama, Major Character Injury, Manakete Noya, Mercenary Hinata, Sword Master Kuroo, Tactitian Kenma, War Monk Asahi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 07:22:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5119916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animeismylifestyle/pseuds/animeismylifestyle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s blood. Lot’s of it. Daichi barley even knows which way is up and he’s struggling to breathe. He’s never seen so many bodies on a floor before. His own body aches, but he has to keep moving forward. His thoughts fly. Where is Suga?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Aka the Fire Emblem au no one asked for. I actually dreamt up an entire kuroken au for Fire Emblem but I know I don't have the skill to write it, so I decided to just write a little drabble about the daisuga that also appeared in the dream. Feedback would be appreciated, but please be gentle!

There’s blood. Lot’s of it. Daichi can barley register which way is up and he’s struggling to breathe. He’s never seen quite so many bodies on a floor before. His own body aches, but he has to keep moving forward. His thoughts fly. _Where is Suga?_

It's almost laughable how as soon as he asks himself this he catches the sound of a small, strangled cry. He bolts towards the sound, an automatic response drilled into him after all these years. _How could I let him out of my sight?_

He runs and runs, his body arguing with him, joints groaning at him, every step of the way. Until finally, _finally_ , he finds him.

Suga's lean back is to Daichi and he’s supporting himself with his gold staff. His legs are shaking. His arms are bloody, covered in blue bruises that are starting to blacken already. He’s about to call out to the prince when he hears a grunt and a shout from the person standing opposite him. He can literally see the magic as it’s thrown towards Sugawara. His body acts on autopilot. He runs forward, barley breathing.

But he’s too late.

Just as he reaches him, Suga’s head is thrown back, his body contorting into a painful shape and as he turns his head, opens those warm eyes and makes eye contact with Daichi for a split second. Then, before Daichi can properly process what is even happening, his eyes go blank and he promptly crumples into a pile on the ground.

Daichi can’t breathe. He feels sick. He’s gonna throw up. He stumbles the remaining few steps to hover over Suga’s still form. Suga's back rises and falls so slowly it's barley visible. He’s breathing, _thank the gods_. Daichi turns to stand and face the dark mage behind him and with a sudden shout, he charges with all the strength he’s got left. The mage barley has a second to react before Daichi’s silver sword plunges deep into her chest. He takes a deep breath, removes his sword, now covered in fresh blood, before sheathing it and sprinting back to his prince, the mage's pierced body falling behind him.

He needs to find a healer. But they’ve been left behind in the chaos. Most of the battalion has managed to push forward enough that Daichi can barley see them fighting on the horizon. That’s good. One good thing to come from this dreadful day. Slowly, he reaches down to his prince and rolls him onto his back so he can assess the damage.

Daichi gulps. He thought he was covered in blood, sweat and tears but it’s nothing. Absolutely _nothing_ compared to what’s covering Suga’s body. From head to toe he’s covered in deep gashes, the blood a deep, dark crimson running and drying every where. He's so pale. His body lying pliant on the hard ground. He looks almost like one of those petrifying rag-dolls Daichi's sister's played with when they were younger. But it’s Suga's face that frightens Daichi the most. His beautiful, ethereal face is almost perfectly untouched and slack, except for the few bloody tears running from his eyes.

Daichi’s scared. He’s seen his fair share of magic-related injuries in his time training and serving as a knight, but he’s never seen blood running so perfectly out of someone’s eyes. The blood is fresh, so he comes to the conclusion that it must be from that last spell Suga endured and he hasten’s to pick up Suga’s lithe form to find the nearest medical tent. Gently, he stands, carrying Suga close to his chest as he walks. The prince is surprisingly heavy. His body a dead weight in Daichi’s arms and he’s very cold. _Has he stopped breathing?!_ Daichi’s panic stops his own body from moving another step and he barley registers that’s he’s stopped his own breathing when he finally hears a light, pained moan leave those pale lips. _Thank the gods_.

Despite his body urging him not to, Daichi quickens his pace and ends up running as fast as possible back to the base, carrying his prince close to his heart. He needs to find a healer or ideally, a priest and he needs to find one _right now_.

Eventually, his breath running short and quick, he spots their base. They’ve been battling since dawn and already the hot sun is low on the horizon, a beautiful end to what Daichi can’t help but feel is a very tragic day. With the sun low in the sky behind him and the moon in his arms, he races to the tent. His feet are loud against the uneven ground, his breathing hot and heavy, and he rolls his left ankle a few times but _oh lord_ he doesn’t stop. Not for a second. He can’t.

A few feet away from the tent and Yachi Hitoka and Ennoshita Chikara rush outside. He’s sure they heard his heavy breathing as he ran but as he slows down so as not to barrel them over, he realises he’s been yelling. He’s too worried to be embarrassed by his own actions before Hitoka smiles at him. His eyes dart from her warm eyes down to Suga’s blank ones and she seems to finally register the bundle of a man in his arms.

Her eyes widen and fill with tears and she rushes back into the medical tent to presumably, prepare a bed and supplies for their prince. Chikara looks worried but incredibly determined as he clenches his fists and guides Daichi into the medical tent. He seems to sense that Daichi is scared to the bone and frankly, quite out of his mind, if the sympathetic look he receives is any indication.

With great difficulty, Chikara and a few of the other medics, clerics and priests eventually get Daichi to let go of the prince. He feels empty, a hollow shell of the man he was just this morning. He failed his duty as Prince Sugawara's personal guard. He is supposed to be Sugawara's Great Knight and he failed in protecting his prince.

His heart protests as Hitoka guides his shaking form away from Suga and to a spare camp bed close by. He lies his tired body down, too distracted to protest and barley watches as Hitoka prepares herself and her staff, obviously ready to begin healing him. He closes his eyes. Soon, he falls asleep.

~~~~

It’s hours later that Daichi wakes up, sore and groggy. Though he can definitely feel Hitoka’s magic doing the trick- he probably wouldn’t be able to move if it wasn’t for her. He’ll be fine. He manages to sit himself up, body practically groaning at the movement and turns to the bed beside him.

Suga is pale. More so than usual. The bruises covering his usually creamy skin are now just a light, murky green. They would probably look like nothing on Daichi’s olive skin, but on the prince’s fair skin, they could probably be seen from a mile away. Daichi let’s himself a small moment of relief before raking his eyes over the rest of his body. He appears to be in one piece, despite the bandages covering the cuts and smaller wounds he assumes the priest or cleric decided to let heal naturally.

They’re alone.

He reaches a tentative hand over to the prince’s sleeping form and curls the prince's now dusty, mattered, silver hair behind his ear. Daichi flinches as Suga sighs and his eyes begin fluttering, the promise of his prince waking up making Daichi's heart pound. He watches with bated breath as Sugawara opens his eyes for a split second before quickly shutting them. His breathing is coming faster. He must be panicking. Daichi reaches his hand over once more and gently runs his shaking fingers over Sugawara's arm.

“Koushi-" he dares utter the name, but they're alone, it shouldn't be such a big deal to Daichi but he can't help it, the use of the prince's first name carries such a deep meaning. Daichi tries not to think about it. 

"It’s okay, I’m here, you’re okay”, he murmurs to the awakening prince.

Sugawara opens his eyes, and closes them once again, scrunching his face up in the process. In any normal circumstance, Daichi would probably internally call the action cute, but something doesn’t feel right. It _feels_ wrong. There’s _something_ wrong. His heart races.

Suga finally turns his head towards Daichi before opening his eyes again and Daichi notices, _oh god_ he notices. Those normally warm, brown eyes are looking past him, milky and unseeing. Daichi’s heart stills in his chest. Suga takes a deep lungful of air, before opening his mouth and says what Daichi never expected he had to fear.

“Daichi. I… I can’t see”

Daichi’s heart breaks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma is afraid. His legs are shaking beneath his robes and he’s sweating like crazy. His hair hangs is clumps on his forehead as he runs toward fellow soldiers.

Kenma is afraid. His legs are shaking beneath his robes and he’s sweating like crazy. His hair hangs is clumps on his forehead as he runs toward fellow soldiers. 

He was separated from Kuroo, Sawamura and Sugawara a while ago. He’s not too sure how long he’s been on his own. His head feels messed up. It could’ve been a few minutes or even couple of hours for all he knows. 

He grounds to a halt as he senses something coming toward him, only to drop to the ground just in time to avoid being pierced through with a silver lance. He rolls over, body groaning with the effort and manages to kick his attacker in the stomach before standing. Head bowed, hair covering his eyes, Kenma begins a spell and soon enough he can hear the surprised grunt followed by a gurgle as a body falls flat before him. 

He can’t look, he’s still not used to the feeling of taking a life, and he can’t stand the thought of looking at someone after he’s just taken theirs. Kenma's not made for combat.

He’s finally alone and squats on the ground to have some water from his canister. The cool water feels incredible on his sore, dry throat and he savours the taste and feeling before forcing himself to put his canister away, he'll surely be needing more water later. He hears a horse galloping towards him and can only hope that it’s someone on _their_ side. He’s tired and has never had to battle for this long, or on his own before.   

“KENMA!” Kenma raises his head at the familiar tone as Kuroo gallops into his line of vision. They stare at each other with bated breath. _Kuroo's okay. He's fine. He's okay_.  Kenma stands on unsteady feet and raises an eyebrow at the approaching sword master.   

“Where did you get a horse?” he mutters as Kuroo’s sly grin crosses his face.

“I took one from the enemy when Daichi and I realised we let our only tactician get lost amongst the chaos.” He pauses, looking Kenma up and down with a slight frown, “Though it did take a while to find you. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine” Kenma stifles a yawn as Kuroo continues to frown down at him. When Kuroo doesn’t go to say anything else Kenma look’s back up at him. “Well?” is allhe needs to say before Kuroo jumps off of the horse as though it was something he did every damn day (which, it _isn't,_ as far as Kenma's aware), grabs Kenma by the waist and gently places him on the saddle. All in a matter of seconds. _How embarrassing_. Kenma feels his face burning and attempts to shade his cheeks with his hair. He has a feeling it doesn’t work. 

Kuroo grabs a hold of the reigns and mounts the horse right behind Kenma, holding onto his waist with one arm. “Shall we?”

“We don’t really have a choice, Kuroo.”

“I’m well aware of that!” Kenma has the sense to grip the saddle of the horse as Kuroo leads them into a steady gallop back across field toward the main battle. He tries not to notice the bodies they come across but it’s difficult to miss. His let’s his thoughts travel to Shouyou, whom he hasn’t even seen since the battle began. _He’ll be fine_ , he tries to reassure himself, _he has Kageyama with him_. _They’ll be fine_.His eyes begin to burn and he feels bile rise in his throat but he swallows it down for fear of having to stop in this makeshift graveyard.  Kuroo seems to sense his distress and rubs a soothing hand over Kenma's left arm. While it does feel nice, and he knows Kuroo it trying to be reassuring, Kenma can’t help but move slightly out of his reach. The affection feels misplaced on this battle ground and Kenma’s anxiety is sky-rocketing the longer he stays out of action and thinks about what he's actually _doing_. Kuroo’s arm falters before falling back to his sides, no longer warm on Kenma’s waist. Kenma tries (and promptly fails) not to think too much about it. 

Before long, they’re back in the midst of battle. 

~~~

Kenma’s eyes are closed when they unexpectedly come to a stop. Kuroo’s breath hitches and Kenma opens his eyes. It’s now late into the night, the stars shining bright above him and Kenma comes to the obvious conclusion that he must have been asleep for a few hours. 

A s the battle finally slowed to a stop and what remained of the enemy made a hasty retreat, Kenma remembers falling to his knees on the blood covered ground, vomiting what little he had left in his stomach and letting his exhaustion finally catch up to him. From his current position on top of Kuroo’s stolen horse, he can only assume Kuroo took it upon himself as his _guard_ or whatever it was the prince had decided to call him and bring him to the medical tent. 

Which is actually where they now were, Kenma realises as he finally, blearily, takes in his surroundings. Kuroo is stock still and eerily silent behind him so Kenma turns, curious to see what’s keeping him quiet. Kuroo’s face is grim and he staring towards the left side of the tent. Kenma turns again, trying to see through the darkness in his sleepy state when he makes out the silhouette of someone. The Great Knight Sawamura, if Kenma’s guessing correctly. 

Next thing he knows, Kuroo is jumping off of the horse, grabbing Kenma by the waist, flinging him down to solid ground because he knows Kenma won't be able to get down on his own and _running_ over to Daichi. Kenma’s not too sure why on earth he’s in such a rush to see his friend, he looks fine from where Kenma’s standing but as he nears the pair with quiet steps he can hear the crying. 

Sawamura Daichi, the Great Knight, is crying, small sobs wreaking his body as he sits on the ground, head held between shaking hands. Kuroo squats down in front him, gingerly rests a hand on one of his broad shoulders and tries to coax some answers out of him.

“Daichi, what on earth happened to you?”. He lifts his concerned gaze up to Kenma when Sawamura doesn’t reply with anything more than a slightly louder sob but it’s not like Kenma knows what to do anymore than Kuroo does. He’s barley even held a full conversation with the man himself. The awkwardness of the situation makes Kenma want to run away, but his legs have practically glued him to the spot. His heart feels heavy as he watches such a usually strong, reliable man unabashedly cry outside a medical tent right after such a battle. He get’s the feeling that there’s something very, very wrong. 

Kenma watches, curious, as Kuroo get's Sawamura to calm down a little, with some quiet coaxing and what would be surprisingly gentle reassurances to anyone else. His shaking sobs reduce to silent tears and sniffles and he wipes his face on his sleeve. _Gross_. Kenma wrinkles his nose and turns his head away from the display in disgust. Kuroo meets his eyes with an amused expression before putting his attention back onto the man before him. Kenma enjoys watching the way Kuroo interact's with other people. It's the best way for him to gauge how much Kuroo has or hasn't changed over the past few years. Kuroo's still kind underneath all the confident, scheming and provocation after all. 

“Is it Koushi?” Kuroo finally dares to ask, voicing what both he and now Kenma thought to be the only person to get this kind of reaction out of the normally stoic guard. Sawamura’s breath hitches and he let’s go of his head to make eye contact with Kuroo. His shaking hands grip the front of Kuroo’s shirt with strength Kenma is honestly surprised he currently has and he utters a startlingly quiet “Yes”. 

Kenma’s heart sinks. 

Sawamura let’s go of Kuroo before practically collapsing into himself, leaning back against the tent for support. “It’s all my fault” he whispers so quietly that Kenma nearly misses it. 

“Hey now, don’t beat yourself up, it surely can’t be _that_ bad, I’m sure Koushi will be fit and ready to battle and lead us again in no time”, Kenma thinks Kuroo really needs to learn how to console people better because Sawamura simply laughs at that. It's a hollow laugh and he shakes his head, thumps a hand on his chest and looks up to the night sky. 

Kenma’s eyes widen, not expecting that response, Kuroo looks incredibly shocked and tears are silently streaming down Sawamura’s face as he replies. “Prince Sugawara Koushi of Karasuno, no longer has any vision" he pauses, the significance of what he's saying causing both Kenma and Kuroo to look toward each other in obvious shock. "He won’t be fit to do battle any time soon, if ever again” he takes a small breath, the tears on his face coming to a stop as his face morphs into something frighteningly angry. The knight is silent as he whispers, “and it’s all my fault. I’ve failed as his knight”. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave it alone and decided to add another drabble, despite not being too happy with it. The pacing is all wrong and I constantly change tenses. Feedback would be appreciated, but please be gentle!


	3. Chapter 3

Daichi can clearly remember the first time he met Prince Sugawara Koushi. It was the first day of his sixth year and he couldn’t have been more excited. 

Sugawara himself was just five and a half at the time, but his parents had decided that it was time for their curious son to have his own guard, they couldn’t keep sending their own with him every time he wanted to explore the castle after all, and Daichi had been asked to accompany his father and sisters to the choosing ceremony. 

Daichi’s father was head guard of the Karasuno palace. At such a young age, Daichi couldn’t really fathom just how important his fathers roll was in the protection of the royal family, and he couldn’t really understand just how much of his life had already been decided on at that point in time, but that didn’t stop the awe he had for his strong, reliable father and the royal guard. 

That morning in the barracks, his eldest sister, Akira, had helped him pick out his best clothes and even managed to get a stubborn and pouting Daichi to comb his hair. She, along with his other sister, Kimiko were to wear their armour to the ceremony and Daichi could barley contain his childish jealousy. He couldn’t wait to be a knight one day! He would even get his own sword when he turned thirteen, which his father had promised countless times to help him forge. 

Akira was a Paladin and at just eighteen was well-known around the region as one of the most reliable female sword wielders of her age group. Kimiko, on the other hand,was currently training to be a Pegasus Knight, just like their own mother was. Her speed and lance wielding abilities had prompted their father to have her trained by his late wife’s battalion just after her sixteenth birthday. 

Daichi held his sisters in the highest regard as after their mothers death four years ago, they had helped their father raise Daichi, despite only being young girls themselves. His sisters were some of the strongest people Daichi knew and though he probably hadn’t been able to identify the feeling at the time, he was very grateful they were so patient and willing to spend time with him, despite their age differences. 

After scrubbing his hands clean and admiring his sisters armour, he eagerly followed them and the other knights, paladins and warriors along the gravel path to the castle. He had only been in the castle a handful of times, each to accompany his father when he had to consult with the Great Lord or his wife and every single time he was blown away by the sheer size and beauty of the building. 

Daichi’s heart fluttered as they entered the grey sandstone castle and made their way through the crowd towards the front of the great hall. There, Daichi caught site of the royal family, talking and laughing amongst themselves. At this point, Daichi’s own father had already taken his place at the royal families side, scanning the crowd for any potential danger. His deep eyes found Daichi’s and he smiled at his son. It was amusing, watching the way in which his son eagerly scanned the crowd, the room, the people. Taking everything in with the kind of excitement only children can possess. Little did Daichi know, in just a few short minutes, his life would change forever. 

~~~

Daichi walked over to his father in a daze. All the day’s excitement gone as he was tired and bored after standing still for what must have been _hours._ He barely understood anything that was talked about at all. Though his name had definitely been mentioned more than once towards the end. He’d heard that much, though he still couldn’t really comprehend what or why he was even mentioned during this choosing ceremony. 

As he saw him approaching, Daichi’s father knelt down to Daichi’s height to address him. It was fairly obvious that the six year old had had no idea what was being talked about today, despite it effecting his life forevermore. 

“Daichi..” Sawamura gently coaxed Daichi to stop rubbing at his dark brown eyes to make eye contact with his father’s own.

“Something very important happened for you today, Daichi. Did you understand?” 

Daichi shook his head honestly, “Not really father. I know Ukai Keishin was chosen to to be Prince Sugawara’s guard and that I was mentioned a few times” his small brows furrowed, “Though, I’m not sure why?” 

Sawamura nodded, his son had understood slightly more than he anticipated which was definitely a good thing to say the least. It meant he had less to explain. 

“You’re right about Keishin, he will make a fine personal guard for the prince.” Sawamura watched, amused as his son nodded with rapt attention, he was always eager to learn more about being a knight. “You were mentioned because you’re close to the prince’s age yourself.” Again, more nodding from his son to show his understanding. 

“It has been decided that you will eventually become the Prince’s personal knight. When you turn seventeen in fact”. 

Daichi’s nodding stopped and he looked at his father, brown eyes widening impossibly at the news. 

“I get to be a knight!?” He asked finally.

“Yes, Daichi. You will get to be a knight. Not just any knight mind you, you will be the Prince’s personal guard, much like Ukai Ikkei is for the Sugawara family and how his own son will be for the Prince until you turn seventeen and take on the role yourself.” 

Daichi’s mouth opens and closes absently as his thoughts finally catch up to him. Sawamura would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little concerned about his son’s reaction to this new role. He had no say in the matter after all (he was just a kid), though Sawamura had gotten to have the final say in weather his son would take the role or not. Daichi had wanted to be a knight since _forever_ and whilst this role had pretty much been guaranteed for him, Sawamura had always wanted his son to be whatever he wanted. Knight or not. He considers himself incredibly lucky that all his children had taken after both their mother and himself with their career choices so far. 

Daichi finally smiled. “I get to be a knight!”. His infectious smile and small bounce on his feet had his father dropping a large warm palm on his shoulder. 

“I know you’ll make me proud, Daichi”. Daichi’s smiling stopped and he rested one small hand over his father's, giving it a determined squeeze. 

 “I’ll do my best, father” he announced in a voice rather unbecoming of a six year old. His father’s eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled. His only son sure did end up taking after his mother. 

“Well… did you want to go meet the Prince, Daichi?” 

~~~

Daichi’s father lead him through a maze of halls and elegantly decorated spaces until they came to a back garden. The sun was setting and warm on Daichi’s cheeks as he obediently followed his father through the twisting foliage, rose bushes and blooming hydrangea to a fountain in the middle of the yard. Soon, Daichi’s father kneeled as the royal family walked into view. Daichi hastily did the same, if he was going to be a good knight like this father, he better copy what he does. 

“Please Sawamura, there’s no need for that” the exalt of Karasuno exclaimed as they approached Great Knight Sawamura and his only son. He watches, amused as the son, Daichi, hastily straightens himself up and watches his father with all the determination he can muster. He looks back at his wife and gestures for her to bring Koushi toward the two men. 

Sugawara Koushi is holding onto his mother’s robes, clearly not in the mood for socialising after a long day in the great hall. His mother kneels beside him and draws his hands into her own. 

“Now Koushi,” she chastises in her soft, calming voice, “Today you’re meeting a new friend. He’ll be very important to you in the future." She pauses, smiling at her son, "Now go and say hello.” Koushi watches his mother stand before he finally turns his head towards Daichi. He recognises the older Sawamura but hasn’t met the younger yet. He stares for a good few seconds, he's never met another kid his own age before (excluding his cousin) and he can't help but feel a little nervous. His mother tuts. “Go on now”. 

Hesitantly, he approaches Daichi. Daichi’s a little taller than he, probably a bit older. It’s obvious he get’s to play outside a lot, his skin warm and sun-kissed, the tops of his cheeks burnt red. Daichi bows his head and Koushi pauses. He’s a little taken aback by the act and turns to his parents, unsure of what to do. 

“Stand tall, Daichi” Koushi's mother laughs and Daichi straightens himself once more, the skin around his cheeks flaming red after being addressed by such an elegant woman. Koushi advances once more and pushes a pale right arm out for a shake. 

Daichi hadn’t expected a handshake. It was something he’d seen adults do many times, something knights often did to him when they visited his father or sisters, but he himself had never shaken the hand of someone that wasn’t a adult. He only hesitates for a brief moment before placing his tan palm in the prince’s. Daichi's hands are a lot darker than Koushi's. Bigger too, calloused and blistered in a way that makes it obvious he lives a very physical life. Koushi's hands are smaller, a lot more slender and pale. Koushi looks at their hands for a moment, taking in their differences, before he lifts his head and beams.  

“I’m Sugawara Koushi. I’ll be in your care!” Daichi takes in the prince's pale skin and silver hair. He was very pretty, like his mother. He definitely fit the image of a prince. 

“I’m Sawamura Daichi. I’ll do my best!" he replies earnestly. If possible, Koushi’s smile widens and Daichi smiles right back. 

That was the very beginning's of what will one day be Karasuno's most famous friendship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This didn't turn out how I wanted but I figured I'd post it anyway. Feedback would honestly really be appreciated. I know I constantly change tenses and change which character's POV it is, sorry about this!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara was annoyed. 
> 
> It wasn’t even that he was simply feeling annoyed in general. At his current “injury”, at his advisors, at the enemy. No, he was definitely annoyed at one person in particular. 
> 
> In short, he was annoyed at none other than Sawamura Daichi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suga and Daichi being really childish around each other when they have a disagreement/fight/whatever or when it comes to their relationship really amuses me, so here's this chapter.

Sugawara was _annoyed_. 

It wasn’t even that he was simply feeling annoyed in general. At his current “injury”, at his advisors, at the enemy. No, he was _definitely_ annoyed at one person in particular.   

In short, he was annoyed at none other than Sawamura Daichi.  

Upon waking up and coming to the sudden realisation that he didn’t have any vision, Sugawara had been prepared to deal with an angry, wrath filled Daichi. Previously, if Sugawara had been injured in any way, shape or form, Daichi simply went to the cause of the issue and threatened them. The great knight’s threats were always taken seriously after all, as he won’t hesitate to follow through on them. Something he’s proved time and time again. He acted like the classic knight in shining armour that Sugawara had often read about in those few fairy tales as a child. They must have left an impression on him because to be honest, it made Sugawara positively swoon. 

But _no_ , what he hadn’t expected was Daichi turning into what could only be described as a right old  _mess_. If this were any normal day or situation, Sugawara would normally be delighted to see his knight expressing such a great range of emotion in public. Whilst he's not grumpy or rude when on duty, he’s normally very stoic and determined, and only ever truly relaxes and let’s a full range of emotions be expressed when it’s just the two of them or when they’re with their closest friends. 

When Sugawara had ultimately “revealed” the news, Daichi practically flew into a panic, grabbed the nearest priest and promptly started babbling about the priest healing his vision or something of the sort (okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but Suga was aloud to feel a little _salty_ about the situation) . Daichi obviously knew this wouldn’t be possible. Sugawara’s vision had been taken by a dark mage after all and it would never be restored by something as simple as healing from a priest. Sugawara understood his shock, his need for normalcy but honestly, this was the Great Knight Sawamura, and he really need to get his head in the game, so to speak. 

So, in true Sugawara fashion, he’d ordered Daichi to go outside to have some breathing space and to then prepare the troops for what was sure to be a long journey home. He’d agreed of course, though he was reluctant to leave the prince so soon after his awakening. To be honest, Sugawara hadn’t wanted to send him away either, the thought of being alone after such a shock scared him, but if he even wanted to discuss the issue at hand with a priest in a calm environment, it was the only thing he could do.  

It was a fair few hours later that Sugawara had heard Daichi crying. It was late, early, one could say, and he wasn't surprised that Daichi chose the few hours that most were asleep to expel his emotions. He hadn’t seen or heard Daichi cry since they were boys- eight years old in fact, when Daichi’s old family Labrador had to be put down. He didn’t cry when Akira had left Karasuno to accompany some fellow paladins on a quest a few years ago and he didn’t even cry when his father passed just last year. It was quite shocking to Sugawara. He wanted nothing more than to go outside and comfort the knight, but in his current state of well, _blindness_ , he had no way of manoeuvring himself through his tent and out into the night. So he had to wait. He had to sit and wait and listen to his best friend cry. Maybe, if Sugawara was being honest with his true feelings, the person he cherished the most. The person he would give everything to if he simply asked. Sugawara's chest ached and he yearned to comfort his knight. 

Soon enough, someone arrived and helped calm Daichi down, though Suga had no idea who it was. Kuroo if he had to guess. He couldn’t hear their talking through the thick tent walls. So all he could do was simply lay back in bed and attempt fall into what ended up being a very restless sleep.

That was three days ago now and he’s barley even _seen_ (well… heard) his knight after sending him out. When they did happen to cross paths, Daichi only spoke when spoken to and only referred to him as Prince Sugawara. He apparently decided to drop the friendly camaraderie they’ve developed on the battle front for the past few years down the drain. It was obvious Daichi was avoiding him, leaving Sugawara in his current state of annoyance.

Anyone and everyone knew the prince of Karasuno and his knight had a great, maybe even closer-than-what-is-considered-normal friendship. They had been raised together since they were boys, that one faithful meeting when Sugawara was just five and half sealed their friendship forever. They went through nearly everything together. They didn’t get to go to school together, something that bothered Sugawara even today, but other than that, the boys were practically inseparable. They were always there for each other, to lend a hand, to play with, to vent to. They were there for all the awkward stages of puberty, as embarrassing as that time had been, Sugawara had been there for Daichi when he broke his arm trying to protect a young villager from thieves, he'd been there for the good times and the bad. They shared a lot of memories and every memory they shared together, Sugawara cherished. 

Since waking, Sugawara has discovered that he’s not _completely_ blind so to speak. After the first day, he’s been able to see blobs of colour. So he can tell where people and objects are, just not who or what they are and he _definitely_ can’t see any detail. It was scary how quickly his other senses have worked to make up for his failing sight, his hearing is now ridiculously good- he’s getting better at being able to tell who a person is by their footsteps and his sense of smell is becoming very strong.  

That’s why now, as large footsteps begin to hesitantly approach him, he knows it’s none other than Asahi Azumane. Asahi and Sugawara go way back. Not as far as his friendship with Daichi, no- but he’s known Asahi for nearly just as long. 

Unlike _someone_ , Asahi has dealt with Sugawara’s new disability rather well. Asahi is a war monk (people that already knew of Asahi's personality and temperament were always surprised by this, which amused Sugawara to no end) and had been travelling through the area when he happened across their battle. He’d arrived late of course, but had helped his fellow people finish the fight and ultimately, healed a lot of people as well. Sugawara was always grateful to have Asahi around, it was no secret that he was vital on the battlefield, nearly indestructible and, being a war monk, he could heal people when necessary- a skill Sugawara’s battalion lacked when in the middle of a fight. After that fist night alone in what had apparently been deemed his own medical tent, Asahi had made his presence known to the prince. 

The first meeting was a little awkward.Well, Asahi was always a little awkward but he apparently had no idea how to approach the subject of Sugawara’a vision or how to ask about the noticeable _missing person_ that was usually by his side. Sugawara had decided to lead the conversation into lighter territory, asking Asahi about his travels, about their friend and Asahi's travelling companion- Noya, and Asahi eventually loosened up enough to finally breach the topic. As Sugawara described the spell that had rendered him blind, Asahi had eagerly written notes down. Sugawara was confused as to why he would bother doing that when Asahi cleared his throat, placing a rough palm on Sugawara’s thin shoulder and announced,

“I, Asahi Azumane, war monk of Karasuno and good friend of Prince Sugawara Koushi” he paused to take a deep breath, “vow to help restore you sight. If it was taken by dark magic, there must be a way to restore it, and I will find it”. Sugawara had been rather shocked by Asahi’s sudden announcement and had to blink back tears that threatened to spill over for the first time since he awoke to see nothing. He’d asked if that was really what Asahi wanted to do, and Asahi had pulled his arm away, rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment (Sugawara may not have been able to see, but that didn’t mean his intuition was gone) and mentioned that he may have already discussed this plan (or what would hopefully become a solid plan) with none other than Daichi. 

So Daichi had apparently taken it upon himself to request Asahi’s help with restoring Sugawara’s vision without even consulting him? They’d barley talked since he woke up and this little revelation had Sugawara feel anger bubbling deep within his chest. He’d sent Asahi away with a message for Daichi in huff. Asahi was more than happy to comply, not wanting to get to close to the prince when he wasn’t in his usual sunny disposition. 

Now, as Asahi approached him again, Sugawara can’t help but feel a little embarrassed at his out-burst. It was childish he knows, but Daichi is acting more childish then he is so it feels a little justified. Asahi’s footsteps come to a stop just to the left of him and he can just make out the white blobs of Asahi’s robes and the tan of his face. 

“Suga, I’ve been conversing with D..Daichi” he stutters over the name, obviously scared Sugawara won’t like the fact that he’s been talking to Daichi during this... fight, or whatever it is they’re having right now, “and he say’s we’ll be ready for departure within the hour. We’ve just got to discuss the matter of your.. your.. ah, erm, transportation back to Karasuno”. Sugawara knows it’s not Asahi’s fault but he can’t help the way his annoyance spikes up. 

“Thank you Asahi. But, if this is a matter we need to discuss, Daichi needs to be present. He is my personal knight after all, or has he conveniently forgotten?”. Sugawara narrows his eyes and Asahi hums in general agreement. 

So, Asahi calls Daichi over and they two of them sit down with Sugawara to discuss just how he’ll get back to Karasuno, he can’t very well ride a horse with practically no vision, and he hasn't travelled in a carriage since he was old enough to join battle, so they didn't bother bringing one along and they need to figure out an alternative to get Sugawara home. 

“The Prince could fly with some of the pegasus knights?” Asahi suggests warily, obviously feeling very awkward in the tense atmosphere between the knight and his prince. 

“That may sound like a good idea, but I can’t imagine flying when you can’t see where you’re going, or who’s pegasus you’re on, or who you’re flying with, would be pretty dangerous for the prince.” That’s the most Daichi’s said in Sugawara’s presence since he woke up and he’s honestly a little surprised. 

They mull over a few ides before it becomes painfully obvious they only have one option.  

“The prince could ride on a horse with you Asahi?” Daichi finally suggests.

Asahi pauses. “ _Suga_ -“ he emphasises, Sugawara imagines him staring Daichi down, the image is strangely amusing “would probably be better riding with one of his own knights. I.. I have to help Noya after all. He’s not well enough to be back and flying in his dragon form yet”. 

“Ah..” Daichi scratches the back of his neck and lookes over to his knights, all with large packs on their horses. “I guess… I mean.. I think the prince will have to ride with me. I’m the only knight without a pack on his horse..” he trails off, obviously embarrassed with the knowledge that his avoidance of the prince will all be for nothing. 

“That will be fine. When will we be leaving Daichi?” Sugawara wants to act as though this doesn’t bother him and normally it wouldn’t. Normally, Sugawara would probably be a little too eager to ride on a horse with his knight but with their already questionable relationship with each other tense, he’s not too sure it’s going to be as fun as it usually would be. Normally, they would chat and even _flirt_ with each other whilst pretending to be oblivious to each others advances even though they both know, deep down, that their relationship is on the verge of being something other then _best friends_ or _knightand prince_. He know’s it’s not happening this time, and Sugawara’s stomach flips with apprehension. 

So, no less then thirty six minutes later, the battalion set’s off with Sugawara sharing Daichi’s horse, trying his hardest not to brush back against his firm chest. Sugawara sighs in the tense silence. It’s going to be one long journey home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this was probably my most well written chapter. Feedback would be appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma was so glad to be nearing home. Well, Karasuno still didn’t feel quite like home, but the sentiment was the same either way.

Kenma was so glad to be nearing home. Well, Karasuno still didn’t feel quite like _home_ just yet, but the sentiment was the same either way. 

It was a tense journey back. The days long and dry and the couple of nights they spent out in the middle of nowhere incredibly cold, only adding to the less than favourable atmosphere. Kenma had never travelled with the battalion after such a fray before, but he can’t imagine everyone was always so quiet and tense and without a better way to put it- awkward. It was obvious who was to blame. 

Lord Sugawara’s loss of vision had really shocked everyone. He was only twenty-four but Sugawara had been on the battlefield with knight Sawamura as soon as he turned eighteen. He’d never been more injured than a few broken bones or cuts before, so it was understandable that the injury made the battalion feel a little uncomfortable, a little more vulnerable. The reality that he was just as fragile as everyone else was a sobering thought. 

Sugawara was to sit upon a horse with the great knight to travel home, something that stirred the soldiers up a little and Kenma had looked to Kuroo for an explanation, who simply smirked at the pair before leaning over to whisper in Kenma’s ear “Just watch the way those two act around each other when sharing a horse. It’s hilarious- on the way back they both have a tendency to flirt with each other and joke around with us all. I think it's usually a form of relief for them”. Kuroo smirked again and stood back up to his full height to watch the display earnestly. Kenma couldn’t contain the shiver Kuroo’s proximity had caused him. 

Kenma had only been with Karasuno for a couple of weeks at that point but he could already tell that the relationship between Sugawara and Sawamura was not what most people would expect between a lord and his knight. The two were incredibly obvious and yet mostly oblivious to each others own advances. Akaashi mentioned once that their never ending ~flirtation-ship~ (Akaashi had scoffed at his own wording, causing Kenma to think that he and Bokuto must have discussed it at one point or another) was cause of a lot of gossip around the capital and that it was only a matter of time before the two of them finally decided to admit to his feelings. 

As Kenma watched Sawamura help Sugawara mount his horse, he felt that it may now take a little longer than most expected. The two wouldn’t talk to each other, could barley even _look_ at each other and Sawamura only touched the young lord when necessary, quickly pulling his hands away so as not to linger on the lord’s body. Sugawara’s face was perfectly blank and one wouldn’t really know anything was wrong when he closed his eyes but as soon as he opened them everyone got a good look of the milky sheen to his normally warm eyes and the way in which he wouldn’t- _couldn’t_ focus on anything in particular. The tactician had caught the barley-there frown on the lords brow though, and knew that Sugawara was definitely _not_ okay- no matter how hard he pretended to be. 

Sawamura on the other hand, had his jaw set tight and a determined glare in his eyes that actually had Kuroo muttering profanities under his breath. “That fucking god-damn idiot” he murmured, looking up at the two now neatly arranged on top of the knights horse, “he’s still fucking blaming himself, the bastard”. Kuroo glared up at Sawamura and when he looked in Kuroo’s direction, Kuroo did not hesitate to flip him off and mouth “you’re a bloody moron” in Sawamura’s direction. Sawamura either didn’t care or pretended not to notice, Kenma had a feeling it was the latter. 

The rest of the soldiers were now well aware of the very tense atmosphere between their lord and great knight and were all nervously looking back at the two as they picked up their packs or mounted their own horses. Finally, Sawamura yelled “Forward to Karasuno!” and the battalion had begun the uneasy journey home. 

Now, only a morning’s walk left to Karasuno, Kenma can finally feel his own anxiety slowly draining away. As if the tense atmosphere wasn’t enough, Kenma had never been on an official battle before, had never done so much physically or mentally before and honestly struggled to keep up with the group. He travelled with Shouyou and Kageyama on the way home and they had both been very patient with him. Shouyou was his best friend after all, and whilst he didn’t know how he felt about Kageyama just yet, Shouyou’s presence instantly calms him down. The nights had been cold and every night, Kenma huddled with Shouyou to share their body heat. Tonight had been the same, Kenma had been snuggled up to Shouyou, who was undeniably warm. He had drifted off to sleep almost as soon as he lent against Shouyou’s bony shoulder and it was just a few hours later that he finally awoke, cold, to find that Shouyou had seemingly rolled away from him and over to Kageyama, if the way his lower half was still angled towards Kenma was anything to go by. 

That was a development Kenma didn’t really know how to deal with. Shouyou and Kenma had been together for the past four years and Kenma wasn’t really used to sharing him. Of course, Kenma knew that it would be a short amount of time before Shouyou made a number of friends within the battalion at Karasuno and he couldn’t help but feel a little envious of his orange haired friend. It hurt more than Kenma cared to admit, seeing Shouyou snuggled up and comfortable with someone that wasn’t him. He had known Shouyou harboured no romantic feelings towards him, the one quick kiss they’d shared on their travels to Karasuno and Hinata’s stupefied reaction was proof enough of that, but seeing him with someone else- someone that wasn’t him still hurt a little all the same. 

While Kenma knew that the feelings he harboured for Shouyou weren’t all that romantic, there was still a little something there, a little spark of hope one could say, and he couldn’t help but feel even lonelier than he did before sitting in the cold night air, watching his best friend positively _snuggle_ his new friend. He was definitely jealous. The feeling was foreign to Kenma, who had no reason to feel jealous before, but even he could recognise the feeling. Closing his eyes, Kenma tries to even his breathing in the hopes of falling back to sleep, but ultimately decides taking a short walk around their camp would be the quickest way to warm himself up a little and calm himself down. 

Gingerly, he stands up, dusting the dirt and grime off of his robes as best as he can before starting to wander around the camp. Everyone appears to be asleep, though as he passes by the lord’s tent, he can’t help but hear gentle murmuring inside. Kenma pauses for a moment, before deciding to continue on, he is not one to snoop and dealing with other people’s business was not one of his strong suits nor something he could be bothered with. Eventually, he makes his was to the other side of camp and comes across Bokuto’sunmistakable buff form. Where his unusual owl Griffon was, Kenma didn’t know, but here Bokuto was, curled up on his side with none other than Akaashi Keiji nestled up against his chest.  Kenma knew those two were romantically involved of course, but he had yet to see the two of them together in what could be considered a romantic atmosphere. 

It was sweet, the way Akaashi had his head under Bokuto’s chin, one of Bokuto’s beefy arms slung carelessly over his waist and the other under Akaashi’s neck, their legs tangled together underneath one of their blankets. Looking at the two, Kenma feels that pang of loneliness he had almost forgotten about and decides it's time to continue moving on. Shivering, holding his arms in his sleeves and against his chest, Kenma rounds the sleeping couple and discovers Kuroo leaning against Bokuto’s broad back. 

Kenma knows that sharing body heat is the easiest way to stay warm out here in the sharp cold and it made sense that Bokuto would let his ‘best bro’ steal the heat from his back. Hell, it was exactly what he and Shouyou been doing the past couple of nights and what they’d started off doing tonight. It made Kenma wonder if Kuroo would let him snuggle up against him, or if that would be weird. Kenma didn’t know if he’d be all that comfortable snuggled up against this Kuroo. It was something they always did, back before Kuroo left Nekoma for sword master training in Karasuno. Back before Kenma left to learn thunder magic and before he even realised he had the potential to be a tactician. That was five years ago, and they were both so different now that it was hard to imagine how Kuroo would react. 

It was all so confusing. Despite growing up and being different to how Kenma remembered him, Kuroo was still ultimately the same man he was five years ago. Kenma can clearly remember the day Kuroo had set off for Karasuno, his bag swung over a shoulder and the casual way he said farewell. Kenma had known he would feel lonely without Kuroo, he was his best friend after all, but he hadn’t expected the undeniable feeling of loss as he watched that lean back walk off into the distance. It wasn’t until then that Kenma had realised that his feelings for Kuroo may not have been as black and white as he’d originally thought. 

He spent a year sending letters back and forth with Kuroo before Kenma could grudgingly admit that he may have been in love with the sword master in training. Not long after that, Kenma had departed Nekoma himself, sending one final letter to Kuroo before beginning his own journey. And that was that. He met Shouyou soon after, and while he thought of Kuroo quiet often, Kenma had been determined to lay those feelings to rest and move on. 

Still, when those familiar gold eyes has met his from across the drawing room those few weeks ago, Kenma wasn’t able to stop the way his breath caught in his throat or the way his legs all of a sudden felt like jelly. 

As Kenma stood there, contemplating his probably-still-there feelings for Kuroo, he ultimately decided that as Kuroo was his own ‘personal guard’ he’d probably have his best interests at heart- it was part of his duties now after all (Kenma had a feeling Lord Sugawara had a good read on people and decided to pair them together on purpose). So, body shaking with the cold and breath coming quicker from nerves, Kenma sat himself down on the hard ground, lifted one of Kuroo’s surprisingly muscular arms up and slotted himself under it, his back against Kuroo’s chest. 

How warm he instantly felt was almost laughable and Kenma was tempted to turn around and look at Kuroo’s face when the man himself unconsciously snuggled closer, effectively pinning Kenma half beneath him. Kenma felt his face heat up and was very glad everyone else was asleep right now. There was no helping it, Kenma couldn’t exactly move away now and he was surprisingly okay with Kuroo’s proximity. Kenma closes his eyes, and almost immediately falls back asleep. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo scrunches his eyes tight- he’s not ready to face another entire morning of silent, vexatious walking with an entire battalion whilst the lord and his “great” knight are happy not talking to each other and pretending everything is fine. 
> 
> It’s been a draining couple of days to say the least, almost as draining as their actual battle had been in Kuroo’s opinion, but then again, he’s never been one for incredibly-serious, actual conflict. Sure, a little argument here and there is somewhat fun to him but an actual fight (if it could even been called that, Kuroo has yet to actually see Daichi or Sugawara argue) between two of the more powerful men in the region- definitely not fun.

Kuroo scrunches his eyes tight- he’s not ready to face another long morning of silent, vexatious walking with an entire battalion whilst The Lord and his “great” knight are happy not talking to each other and pretending everything is fine. It’s been a draining couple of days to say the least, almost as draining as their actual battle had been, in Kuroo’s opinion, but then again- he’s never been one for incredibly-serious, _actual_ conflict. Sure, a little argument here and there is somewhat fun to him but an actual fight (if it could even been called that, Kuroo has yet to actually see Daichi or Sugawara  _argue)_ between two of the more powerful men in the region- definitely not a good time. 

It’s then that Kuroo recognises just how _warm_ he is. Sure, he can get pretty cosy with Bokuto’s back during the night and by mid-morning it’s positively sweltering out here but Kuroo know’s the sun can’t quite be up yet and Bokuto’s back has never been that comfortable (or warm) before. So, struggling against his protesting eyelids, Kuroo opens his eyes. 

Only to find Kenma’s unmistakeable magically-dyed hair (how Kenma managed that, he’ll never know, he’s a _thunder_ mage for cryin’ out loud) pushed up against his own stubbly chin. 

_OH. Oh_. Well, _that’s_ something Kuroo definitely won’t be complaining about any time soon. Still, he’s shocked to find Kenma snuggled up against him on the last morning of their journey and a little confused as to why Kenma chose last night (or this morning?) to crawl up next to him on the hard ground instead of snuggling with that orange kid he’s normally with. They haven’t spoken all that much the past couple of days. No one really has, but other than the occasional pleasantries when getting their rations, the two have barley talked at all. 

Which isn’t all the surprising to be honest. Kuroo’s still not too sure where he stands with Kenma. He knows their friendship will never be how it once was, Kenma made sure of that when he stopped sending Kuroo’s letters those few years ago, but it’s definitely not irreparable. Kuroo would definitely love to fix it. But again, he doesn’t want to push Kenma into something that makes him uncomfortable. Which is why now, with Kenma pushing against his entire frame, Kuroo feels a little annoyed. Happy, _definitely_ but also slightly annoyed. Kuroo pushes his lower half away from Kenma’s body because well, it’s the morning, he’s warm, surprisingly comfortable and it’s a perfectly normal reaction thank-you-very-much and attempts to pull his arms away but Kenma stirs slightly and then he can’t bring himself to pull the rest of his body away from him. 

Still, the slight annoyance lingers. He’s not the one that basically decided to end their friendship on a whim. He knows Kenma probably didn’t mean to hurt Kuroo so much by no longer contacting him. He know’s Kenma probably thought he would be annoying Kuroo with his monthly letters about nothing in particular but it still hurt none the less. As much as he hates to admit it, Kuroo does understand why he stopped but it’s still upsetting. He didn’t even know where on earth Kenma was before he had been escorted into the drawing room by Daichi and Suga those few weeks ago, red-eared, wide-eyed and shoulders hunched in obvious embarrassment at being introduced as “one of the best tacticians in the country”. 

Kuroo could barley hold in his gasp of shock and had even felt both Bokuto and Akaashi turn to him, obviously trying to gorge his reaction. The two knew about Kenma of course, he’d only talked about him since he first journeyed to Karasuno to train and when Kuroo realised that Kenma had stopped writing to him. They had both been there when he’d gotten a little _too_ drunk and had decided that having a deep-and-meaningful with his best friend and his best friends’ potential boyfriend about how he probably-more-than-likely had feelings that weren’t quite platonic for his childhood friend was a good idea. Anyway, the two of them knew how Kuroo feels ( _had_ felt, he corrects himself) and Bokuto’s obvious smile of delight and Akaashi’s concerned gaze had registered in Kuroo’s peripheral vision as he’d stared wide-eyed at his oldest friend. 

He hadn’t even known Kenma was coming to Karasuno and that was the first thing to annoy him about the entire situation to be honest. Kenma had damn well known Kuroo would more than likely still be in the nations capital, serving the lord and his family. So why hadn’t he bothered telling him he would be arriving? It frankly baffled Kuroo. Kenma was normally smart about these kinds of things, he knew knew how people would probably react to a certain situation and he was incredibly perceptive (some qualities that no doubt gave him a helping hand in becoming one the “greatest tacticians of the country”). 

Kenma had to have known that this completely unexpected situation would throw Kuroo completely out of wack, but he still gave him no prior warning that he’d be arriving to Karasuno and not only that, but also that he'd be becoming Sugawara’s official tactician. Kuroo is a little angry at Daichi and Sugawara for keeping it a secret as well, Daichi had known who Kenma was to Kuroo after one too many nights spent drinking after particularly difficult days of training and Kuroo has no doubt that Daichi told Sugawara- nothing stays a secret between those two. Expect for their obvious feeling for each other (Kuroo represses the urge to scoff). So yeah, Kuroo felt a little annoyed and he definitely felt that he had the right to be. 

But then Kenma rolls over in his arms and his little slightly upturned nose does the little scrunchy thing that Kuroo can still remember and he sighs softly, the crease in between his eyebrows relaxing and Kuroo can’t feel annoyed for much longer. It’s still the same Kenma after all. Sure, they’ve definitely changed. Kenma’s hair is a little longer, he’s a little taller, a little broader and definitely more a man (young adult is a more accurate description) than the boy Kuroo had left behind in Nekoma. He'a a little more confident. He's made more friends and he's made something of himself. Kuroo knows he's changed too and can’t help but wonder what Kenma thinks of him know. He wonders what he thinks of the few piercing’s he’s gotten over the years, or the scars that litter his body from all the training and battles and burns and he wonders what Kenma thinks of his personality now. He wonders what Kenma thinks of his friends, of his relationships and how he interacts with people. 

He wonders if Kenma wants to change how they interact with each other at the moment and most importantly, Kuroo wonder’s if Kenma ever felt the same way Kuroo feels ( _felt_ , he has to correct himself again) about him all those years ago. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “They…ugh” Sugawara opens his eyes, gaze averted away from Daichi, “they were talking about how I need to get married soon”
> 
> “OH!” Daichi’s legs feel a little wobbly and he kind of feels as though he needs to cry all of a sudden.
> 
> “Yeah” Sugawara finished lamely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks you everyone for the kudos and kind comments, I really appreciate it!

Daichi is ridiculously glad to be back home at Karasuno. While he is always happy to return home, this relief it brings this time it palpable. No more ignoring Koushi. No more pretending everything’s fine when everyone and their mother knows that it’s most definitely _not_. 

The truth is, Daichi feels a little angry. He can barley even put it into words. He failed as the lord’s personal knight. He failed Koushi- his best friend. His best friend that he most definitely has non-platonic feelings for. Feelings that he definitely can’t tell him now that everything has gone to shit. 

To make it worse, literally everyone knows about his feelings. Koushi probably does, Daichi is sure, even if he may not have acted upon them. He can deal with the embarrassment of letting his lord get injured but something he’s yet to figure out how to deal with is the pitying looks his friends and even some of the more random soldiers and villagers send his way. 

Well, it’s not like he was going to act upon his feelings anyway. Perhaps that’s why he’s been so obvious with how he feels towards the prince in recent months. Nothing can ever come of them, so why not let himself be free with how he feels and take what he can get- which is attempting to flirt rather obviously at any opportunity. Koushi is a Lord. The Lord of Karasuno and there is no way in hell Daichi will ever be able to court him like he wants to. He will never be able to have the lord the way he wants and despite getting to spend the rest of his life with the lord, it’s not the way he desperately desires. 

He’s bound to Koushi by paper. He’s bound to protect him and care for him for the rest of his life but he can’t help wishing for something else. Something a little different. Something a little more equal. Daichi wants to spend the rest of his life with Koushi. He wants to wake up together in the mornings, he wants to eat together, bathe together, _live_ together, sleep together, explore Karasuno together, travel together and more importantly, he wants to be free of their roles here in Karasuno, even if it’s just for a moment. Just a taste of this is all Daichi wants. 

Of course, he’s well aware that will never happen. He accepted that fate years ago when he officially became Koushi’s guard. He know’s Koushi would let him break the bond anytime he wanted, he’s even mentioned it once or twice, when he’s making sure Daichi is actually happy with his role. But Daichi knows he would never bother doing anything of the sort. He would be free to live a life outside of the Karasuno barracks. He’d be free to do whatever he wanted. But he wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ do it on his own. He’d need Koushi with him. As stupid as that sounds. He’s not reliant on the prince exactly, but Daichi can’t envision himself living a free life without the person he cares about most by his side. 

He’s mulling over these thoughts as he gets ready for the day in his tiny single room at the knight’s barracks (the perks of being the lord’s personal knight) when Kuroo Tetsuroo decides to wander in. “Look what the cat dragged in” Daichi muses. Kuroo’s usually perky hair is sitting flat against his head and he’s soaked to the bone. The weather today definitely suits Daichi’s mood. Still, the rain makes him think of Koushi. Koushi loves the rain. He wills himself to stop before his gives himself a headache. 

“Hey Daichi. Are ya still acting like a child in regards to your relationship with your _employer_?” Kuroo’s emphasis on employer doesn’t escape Daichi’s notice, but he’s too busy shaving in his little rusty mirror above the wash basin to really comment on it. What he _does_ notice however is that Kuroo's usual confident body language is not really there today. 

“What do you want Kuroo?” he asks. He’s not in the mood for pointless conversation today. 

“I was actually wondering if you’d happened to see our new tactician at all this morning” he tries to keep is casual. Daichi wonder’s if Kuroo knows that he’s as obvious about his feelings as Daichi is about his own. 

“I can’t say I have. Did you need to speak to Kozume about any particular matter?”

Kuroo’s flicks his dripping hair out of his eyes and looks out the window. 

“No. I guess I just wanted to talk to him”. 

“Mm” Daichi hums, looking over at Kuroo’s rather depressing expression. He possibly has no idea how he feels about Kozume yet. _Fantastic_.

The two sit in silence for a while, Kuroo watching the rain drip on Daichi’s window, Daichi cleaning his boots- he will be guarding Koushi all day today (he does most days and nights but a guy needs a little break once in a while) and despite himself, he wants to look good. Daichi almost rolls his eyes at his own foolishness. 

“When did you..” Kuroo trails off. Daichi has never seen him looking so uncertain. Has never seen him look so sad. Not since the time a few years back when they got hammered at that little dingy tavern on the corner of the palace after one of Daichi’s longer shifts and Kuroo had expressed how upset he was that Kozume stopped writing to him. “W-when did you realise that you may have feelings for Koushi?” 

_Here we go_. Daichi regards Kuroo with what he hopes is an amused expression and not a grimace. Judging by Kuroo’s own grimace, it’s probably the latter. “You know perfectly well when I came to the revelation Kuroo”. 

~~~

The revelation in itself had been a long time coming. He’d probably liked Koushi for years by the time he finally realised it. But it had only been a year and a half or so ago that he’d finally admitted his feelings. Sugawara had been meeting with palace officials and his father all day long (he had still been a prince at this point in time) and Daichi had been ordered to stay outside while they discussed whatever it was they had on their agenda. 

It had been mid-morning when the meetings had begun and it wasn’t until late that evening that Sugawara and the others finally wandered out of the room. Daichi had been bored out of his mind waiting outside in the stuffy hall day and the sight of his prince instantly had him in a better mood. 

But Sugawara didn’t appear to be in his usual sunny character. His face was solemn and he barely even greeted Daichi before turning to head to his quarters. Daichi followed loyally, he’d be on shift until tomorrow night and would be guarding Sugawara the entire time. Whenever he had a longer shift (which was more often than not) Sugawara would let him stay in his room, even let him nap if he wanted. He say’s it’s because he can’t expect Daichi to stay awake for two days and one night guarding him and whilst Daichi know’s it’s not what’s expected of him, he can’t help but sit in one of Sugawara’s cushy chairs and nap for two or three hours while the prince is sleeping in his bed beside him. He’s never fully asleep, just in that day dreaming with my eyes closed kind of thing, so if anything were to happen, Daichi would be able to react in an instant. There’s also someone stationed outside the door at all times anyway. Still, he can’t be too careful. He is guarding the eventual lord of Karasuno after all. 

They made their way up the long winding stairs to Sugawara’s quarters in silence and a guard, Narita, greeted them at the door, Daichi nodded to his fellow guard and Narita let them both into the room and gently shut the door behind them. Sugawara sighed audibly as he wandered along to the far corner of his room and began undressing behind the folding screen. Daichi hovered near the door, he didn’t normally make himself comfortable in Sugawara’s quarters until the other was ready for bed. When they both dropped their roles and chatted like old, regular friends. When they were just Daichi and Koushi. Sugawara would complain about his responsibilities and all the crap that comes with being a prince and Daichi in turn complains about the new trainees or how messy the men at the barracks are. 

“Do you want me to get Narita to fetch your chamber maid?” Daichi asks, glancing at the folding screen but quickly averting his eyes when he catches the silhouette of Sugawara’s lean body pulling a fresh tunic over his head. 

“No. No, I can’t be bothered interacting with other people tonight Daichi. Would you please have Narita fetch a kitchen maid so I can have some dinner in peace though?”

“Of course”. Daichi bows (he know’s it’s unnecessary of him to do so but it’s his job and a habit). He leaves the room momentarily to repeat Sugawara’s orders to Narita. When he returns, Sugawara is sitting on his canopy bed, the moonlight catching his hair and making it shine. Daichi swallows, his mouth suddenly dry and makes his way over to his friend. 

Sugawara rolls his eyes, “For god’s sake Daichi, sit the hell down”. 

Daichi grimaces, “A kitchen maid will be arriving soon, when she leaves I can get more comfortable my prince”. Sugawara narrows his eyes at the formality when a hesitant knock sounds at the door. “Speaking of..” Daichi murmurs before turning to the door and retrieving Sugawara’s food. He sets the platter down on the bed and stays standing at his bedside. Sugawara turns to him with a raised brow and orders him to “go and get comfortable”. Daichi sets down his weapons and removes a little of his armour. Just enough to be comfortable in a sitting position, but not enough that if he were to be attacked, anything important would be unguarded. He drags the sitting chair over to Sugawara’s bed and settles in. 

“So-“ Sugawara begins, eyeing the platter of fruits, cheeses, meats and bread set before him. He picks off a few green grapes, popping them into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully before continuing, “today was rather infuriating”. 

Daichi had prepared himself for this. Sugawara was the type to think over whatever was going on in his head and then share his thoughts with Daichi once he had made sense of them. He offered the platter to Daichi who plucked up a few pieces of meat before settling back down again. He really shouldn’t eat on the job, but Daichi was never very good at refusing Sugawara. 

“What happened?” he ventured to ask when Sugawara didn’t say anything else. 

“Well, first they talked a bunch of mumbo jumbo that I couldn’t really care all that much about to be honest”. 

“Suga-” Daichi starts, prepared to reprimand him for not listening to important things when Sugawara waves a hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Please Daichi, I have no energy for a scolding from you tonight.” He pushes another grape between his lips and continues, “But then they started talking about me”. 

“Ohh?” 

“Mhmm”

“So… what did they talk about?” Daichi asks when Sugawara doesn’t continue. 

“Ah” he blushes a pretty pink (Daichi doesn’t dwell on it, he’s always though of Sugawara as pretty) and closes his eyes. “They.. were… talkingabouthowIneedtogetmarriedandproduceandheirsoon”. 

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“They…ugh” Sugawara opens his eyes, gaze averted away from Daichi, “they were talking about how I need to get married soon”

“OH!” Daichi’s legs feel a little wobbly and he kind of feels as though he needs to cry all of a sudden. 

“Yeah” Sugawara finished lamely. 

Daichi doesn’t really know what to do, they've never really talked about this kind of thing before. Even when Daichi’s courting women he never really mentioned it to Sugawara and Sugawara in turn never mentioned anything about romantic relationships (or sexual for that matter) he may have had. Once every couple of months Sugawara would request for Daichi to post a different guard with him for the night and he can only assume that’s when Sugawara entertains any of those sorts of relationships. 

“So, how… how do you feel about that?” Daichi feels really awkward. “I mean about marriage?” As if Suga didn’t know what he was talking about. 

“I don’t” he takes a deep breath and covers his face in his hands. “I honestly don’t know.” Sugawara peaks at him through his fingers. “I’ve never exactly thought about marriage. I’ve never been in a relationship like you Daichi.” Daichi himself feels a little sick “I’ve never bothered to court anyone and no one has tried to court me in turn. I don’t. I just don’t know.”

Daichi pats Sugawara on the shoulder, he really wants to wrap his arms around him but feels as though that would be inappropriate right now. 

“Would you get to choose who you are to marry?” Daichi ventures to ask. 

“Possibly but they definitely want me to marry a woman.”. 

“What else would you marry?” He responds automatically. Sugawara takes his own hands off of his face and gives Daichi a blank stare. 

“What?” 

“Daichi… you do know why I’ve never bothered courting anyone don’t you?” 

Daichi rubs the back of his neck, he feels really hot, maybe he should open a window? “Er… no?”

“I’m gay”. A simple statement but one that sets Daichi’s brain working in over drive. Why does he suddenly feel hopeful?

Daichi feels the blush running up the back of his neck “I honestly had no idea”.

“You know Daichi, considering you’re both my personal guard and my best friend, you really are incredibly daft”. 

Daichi nods and looks down at his shaking hands. He doesn’t know why this conversation is making him feels so unstable. They sit in mutual silence for a little while until Sugawara breaks it with a question “I hope that’s not a problem?” 

“What!?” Daichi lifts his head up so fast to look at Suga that he probably has whiplash. Sugawara has his head turned away and is picking at his quilt with those gentle fingers. Daichi cautiously leans over and pulls Sugawara's fingers away. He’s all of a sudden very aware of just how close he is to Suga. He’s aware of every breath he takes, of that mole on the side of his left eye, of his long lashes fanning out against the tops of his cheeks when he closes his eyes and he's aware of the faint blush dusting across Suga’s face. “That would never be a problem for me Koushi”. He announces as earnestly as he can manage. 

Sugawara’s smile is blinding. Daichi’s heart beats a million miles a minute. 

Sugawara get’s a little cosier amongst his plush pillows then and Daichi takes that as his queue to remove the barley-touched platter and take it out to Narita. When he returns Sugawara is already sleeping, head lolled to the side and breathing gently. Daichi meanders his way back to his spot by the bed before putting out the candles on Sugawara’s bedside table. 

He feels a little out of his element right now. He’s never been very good at deciphering his own emotions, Sugawara usually does it for him, but right now what he’s feeling has everything to do with Sugawara and he can’t exactly wake him up and ask him to help navigate his feelings. 

It’s not until Daichi starts drifting off himself that he begins to think about Sugawara as a married man. It makes him irrationally angry. Sugawara isn’t his and he has no right to be this… protective of the prince. It get’s even worse when Daichi imagines Sugawara with an unidentifiable man. The two of them walking everywhere together. Sharing a bed together. Sharing food together. Living together. Working together. Holding hands. Laughing together. Whispering together. Hugging. Kissing. Making lo-, Daichi stops his own thoughts. He always knew Sugawara would be expected to get married and produce an heir but he never really thought of how that would make him feel if it _actually_ happened. 

Daichi closes his eyes and leans forward in his chair, arms on his knees and hands covering his face. He feels sick. He actually feels like he wants to vomit. He feels… jealous. Why does he feel so jealous? Why does he feel so alone?

Daichi hates feeling like this and after a few hours of sorting through his own emotions he can only come to one conclusion. A conclusion that has his heart hammering in his chest but a feeling of certain clarity that he can’t even deny. He can't believe he hadn't even considered this before. He can't believe he didn't know he had feelings for Sugawara Koushi. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed tenses half way through. I'm so sorry, I'm really trying to get the hang of it but am obviously finding it difficult. Also, I suck at dialogue so sorry if any of the conversations read funny :(


	8. Chapter 8

Adjusting to his new life was apparently going to be very difficult for one Sugawara Koushi. Of course, he had already come to the realisation that suddenly going blind would make his life a _little_ difficult, but Suga was only just comprehending just how difficult it was going to be. He’d only been home for one night and he already felt far more exhausted than when he was actually on the battlefield.

For one thing, he can’t exactly do his duties while blind- his advisors and tutors are practically chanting at the bit to try and help him with running the place. He’s got letters to answer, citizens to attend to and places to visit, but Suga just doesn’t want to deal with it at all. He doesn’t even want to plan for the usual post-battle-ball he usually holds a week or so after a large conflict and if that’s not an indication as to how unmotivated and difficult everything is for him right now, then he has no idea what is.

He also can’t do anything alone. He can barley make his way around his own quarters without assistance, he can’t dress himself without assistance, he can’t even bathe without assistance. It’s undeniably frustrating having your already limited freedom taken away from you and Sugawara is struggling to get used to his new and ‘improved’ limitations.

Even now, as he’s sitting in his bed trying to decide if it’s worth the effort of getting up and attempting to make his way downstairs for breakfast or if he should just wait here for someone to inevitably come find him and decide that it’s time for him to eat. He’s got a guard just outside the door, he could even call out to him for assistance. But despite knowing he needs the help, Suga’s proud. His already wounded pride won’t let him call out for assitance so Suga simply sighs, rolls over in bed and tried to fall back to sleep.

~

 

Daichi’s hurriedly walking through the cobbled streets of Karasuno after his discussion with Kuroo, eager to get the training grounds to expend some of his restless energy when none other than Asahi Azumane starts calling out to him. It’s a rather unusual sight, Asahi running to try and catch up to someone, yelling at the top of his lungs to get their attention- something Asahi normally tries to avoid as much as possible. Daichi stops in his tracks and takes a step under the awning of a tea shop as he waits for the war monk to catch up with him.

Asahi’s red in the face panting by the time he makes it to Daichi and Daichi’s a little confused as to what could make Asahi want his attention that badly.

“Hah… hah.. Daichi.. I. I finally…” Asahi’s stammering, trying to get his words out and Daichi’s impatience is beginning to show.

“C’mon Asahi, I need to get to the training grounds to get some practice in before I start my shift this evening” He gestures towards the training grounds just down the road and turns back to Asahi in time to see him setting his jaw and finally standing up to his full, rather impressive height.

“Ahh, I’m sorry Daichi but you need to hear this and I think you’d like to hear it now” He frowns slightly and brings his hands together in front of him, twisting his fingers together, betraying his anxious demeanour.

Daichi notes Asahi’s worried expression and tries not to think about what could make Asahi so concerned. Then he remembers a whole lot makes Asahi’s unnecessarily concerned and hopes that this is just something he can fix easily.

Asahi looks around nervously, and he seems to realise they’re in a very public place. He looks at Daichi with an expression he can’t decipher which is _weird_ but Daichi has no chance to think about it before Asahi moves closer to whisper in his ear “ I know where we can take Koushi to cure his blindness”.

~

Kenma wakes to the sounds of rain lightly pattering against his windows. He sighs and stretches his legs and arms, yawning- not quite ready to start his day yet. They made it back to Karasuno yesterday evening. The battalion had needed to go to the training grounds and register themselves as soon as they got back (so Daichi could undoubtedly ensure he’s covered any losses) and by the time Kenma had finally stumbled home after losing both Kuroo and Hinata in the crowd he was exhausted. He’d removed his dirt covered robes and promptly fell straight into bed, where he slept for what he’s now estimating was a solid fourteen hours or so.

Kenma blinks against the light that’s managed to make it’s way through his curtains despite the rain and blearily sits up. He’s seriously starving but after looking down at his body, he decides a trip to the bathhouse is in order before he even thinks about getting some food.

With that decided, Kenma crawls out of bed and dresses in his oldest robes and tunic, he’s only going to get changed into something a lot cleaner as soon as possible anyway- and gathers his toiletries and towels before slipping on his sandals as he walks out of his front door. He shuffles along the rather long hall before sighing as he makes his way down the stairs. Despite his fourteen hour sleep, he’s so tired. And his body is aching. He’s really not used to so much physical activity. Once downstairs, he turns to his left and wanders down that hall to the bathhouse.

Scrubbing himself down has never been as satisfying as this, Kenma is sure, as he watches the dirt, blood and grime begin to clear from his body. His scrubbing reveals a fair few small wounds that he’ll need to get healed and plenty of bruises that stand out against his pale skin- but nothing too serious, for which Kenma is very thankful. Truthfully, Kenma is surprised he hadn’t been properly injured during the battle because while he may be fairly talented with his magic, putting that into practice on a battlefield is an entirely different story.

He finishes up scrubbing himself clean, his skin pink and stinging slightly and rinses himself off before making his way into the bath. Kenma tries to avoid using the bathhouse at peak times as much as possible, the crowd always making him a but nervous and he’s grateful that he woke up after most people would have started their day. There’s only two others in the bath and Kenma carefully slips into the hot water as far away from the other two as possible.

It’s heaven on his aching muscles and Kenma sinks as low as possible, keeping his head down so as to avoid unwanted conversation with the two other patrons. It’s quite besides the occasional swish of the water and Kenma feels so relaxed for what feels like the first time in weeks.

Before long, his skin starts to prune and Kenma pulls himself from the water. While he may not have a proper job per say, he’s sure someone from the royal guard is probably looking for the tactician to debrief the battle. Kenma dresses in a clean, comfortable tunic and robe and makes his way back upstairs.

He doesn’t think about the fact that he feels a little lonely this morning. Kenma enjoys his alone time, has been craving it the entire time they’ve been away, and loneliness isn’t something he’s felt for a fair few years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no update! I'm sorry it's taken me like, four/five months, to update but writing is really difficult and coming up with a plot is really difficult for me! But, I think I've finally figured out a bit more of a plot for this so hopefully I can update again soon! 
> 
> Please, if you've got any plot ideas/head canons please share with me! I'd love to hear them!


End file.
